Monday 23 January 2012

Dance Like There Is No One Watching

A friend of mine asked me to do a picture for her daughter . She really likes butterflies and is involved in dancing. I have been inspired by fairies recently so I decided to incorporate that idea into my picture as well . My big eyed girl was inspired by  Ady from a Doll Dreams class I took last year . I used Canson mixed media paper with water color crayons ,acrylic paints and  paint pens . I hope she loves her as much as I do :)

Wednesday 18 January 2012

My Fairy Name

I recently found out that My Fairy Name  is
 Oak Elfdancer
She is cheerful and friendly.
She lives in forests of oak and lime trees.
She can only be seen when the bees swarm and the crickets chirrup.
She wears pretty autumnal leaf colours and has transparent green wings like a cicada.
I was inspired to draw and paint how I imagined she may look happily enjoying a moment under a tall oak tree

Monday 16 January 2012

Goddess of the Bountiful Harvest and the Nurturing Spirit

Today was a Snowday which meant for a day dedicated to my week three Life Journal. This class was about creating a goddess that we connected with . I really enjoyed learning the new techniques taught by Bonnie Rose Bryan . 


The Goddess I chose is Demeter.  She was the most generous of the great Olympian goddesses.  The Greek goddess Demeter was beloved for her service to mankind in giving them the gift of the harvest, the reward for cultivation of the soil. Also known as the Roman goddess Ceres, Demeter was the goddess of the harvest and was credited with teaching humans how to grow, preserve, and prepare grain. Demeter  was thought to be responsible for the fertility of the land. She was the only one of the Greek goddesses who was involved on a day-to-day basis in the lives of the common folk. While others occasionally "dabbled" in human affairs when it suited their personal interests, or came to the aid of "special" mortals they favored, the goddess Demeter was truly the nurturer of mankind. Demeter also was the only one of the Greek goddesses who could truly empathize with the human experience of suffering and grief, having experienced it fully herself. The story of Greek goddess Demeter illustrates the tremendous capacity of a woman to love and nurture, within her own family and the world at large.  It also reminds us to stand firm for what is good and right, even in the face of adversity, when powerful forces are aligned against us. 
The goddess Demeter's message also reminds us of the seasons of a woman's life, that even though there are times of great sorrow there is also great joy to be found.

Sunday 15 January 2012

DOODLE DOODLE DOODLE

I am always doodling ,often on important papers that really aren't meant to be doodled on . For those of you that doodle you know exactly what I mean . Once you have a pen in hand and see a paper its like a magnetic force you just start then suddenly relies  what you have done and its too late .You now have the most unique looking legal document the lawyer has ever seen, you think its a masterpiece while he thinks its a good thing they have another copy to sign .....

I started doodling while watching TV the other night. This masterpiece is in my moleskin  art journal .I used Prisma Color chisel tip markers in a variety of colors. This was a fun challenge I am very glad to have found this site  THE SKETCHBOOK CHALLENGE

Inspiration

Tonight I am thinking about inspiration . Where do we get it , how does it suddenly just come to us ? As I think about what I have seen ,touched ,smelt and tasted lately .I am reminded that inspiration can come from almost anything. The snow falling last night, how it sparkled in the light. Children making snow angels, milk split on the table, my kids laughing, an amazing ice cream sunday with lots of fun toppings, a trip to an antique store or just talking with your pops. These are truely my inspirations

Thursday 12 January 2012

New Year New Dreams

Dream Board Front 
I am on week two in Life Book and wow I cant say enough about how much I already love this class. This week we had the opportunity to make  Dream Boards lesson by http://juliettecrane.com . This can be anything we wish for as individuals ,the sky is the limit (inner peace, a fancy car , to become a movie star) , no one said it will come true but it is something to work towards and you never know the more you follow your dreams and set out small goals the more  likely you are to attain them .These dreams dont have to be attainable in a year or two they are future hopes and goals. Some may be within reach and some may take a long time but as the saying goes "Yesterday is but a vision, and tomorrow is only a dream. But today well lived?makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a dream of hope. 

Monday 2 January 2012

Life Book

Happy New Year .
I am so excited , the start of a new year and a new adventure . I am beginning my art journey in a new course called Life Book on Willowing (be sure to check out the link ) It is going to be an amazing year of self exploration as well as a mixed media art journey experience from over 14 talented artists. My first two assignments were to create a sacred box to keep all my pieces I create in . I just finished it today .It was so fun painting this box I know I will use it for all kinds of special keepsakes

This is a page in my art journal . Who is my goddess ? What are her positive qualities ? This was very challenging and much more difficult then I thought. It is very hard to find those words .The inner self talk seems to make it a struggle to come up with the positives but for some reason the negatives come easy